Burning Man 2010 - Thursday / Friday
I simply don't remember any differentiation between these days, sorry. :( It's been too long and they've all blurred together. Chronology is lost to the banks of my memories. I'll just list various events and experiences without worrying too much about precisely *when* they took place.
I was Spiderman one night, but I lost my Spiderman hood at the end of the night. :( Lame. While Spiderman was very fun, it was totally eclipsed by Flaming Shadowman. Blake and I work the blacksuits from the SCI show at Horning's Hideout, and we had more fun than any two black-clad people are entitled to have. We climbed and climbed and climbed and hung and hung and hung. I explored my body's potentials and limitations like I never have before. I never would have believed that I could do the things I was doing. I got comfortable with double-knee hangs, and then single-knee hangs. I thrashed around in a single-knee hang. Blake lifted people from double- and single-knee hangs, and swung them. I explored a wide range of ways to hold onto all kinds of different anchor points with 1 or 2 hands and/or 1 or 2 legs/feet. I did Bridges on very tall, not-so-sturdy objects. From a Bridge or hang I gazed in stupified wonder out over a rave full of brightly-clad super-people.
Gummy Bears. Creature coined the phrase and it immediately made sense to me. He and I (after my return from BRC) took a moment to clarify just what quantifies a Gummy Bear.
I'm not sure they *need* to be female, but they overwhelmingly are females. Nearly all of them are small. They wear brightly-colored things, and they favor fluffy stuff. They're made up to look hotter than humans can possibly look, and dressed & costumed accordingly. They look like candy, clothed in wonderfully colored wrappers. But (for me at least) the primary determinant is how they dance.
Gummy Bears dance like sex-candy. They move in a way that's calculated to make watchers want them fiercely. They're not overtly sexual (at least not often) but the hint of sex is there. Mostly, though, they just dance (and look) like candy. Dawn is occasionally my Dark Gummy Bear (she doesn't favor neon colors). Feather was a Gummy Bear now & then. The rave stages were sprinkled liberally with Gummy Bears. The spotlight dancers (behind the screens at Tower of Babel, especially) are almost always Gummy Bears. Most Gummy Bears are strippers, though not all of them are.
Burning Man 2010 taught me not to obsess about Gummy Bears, yay! :) I watched them (they were everywhere and it was hard *not* to) and I slowly came to realize that I don't want one. I don't want human candy. I don't want strippers, or superhot European girls with perfect face and body. I got to see Gummy Bears in many different situations, and girls who are caught up enough in themselves to become candy aren't for me. It's a very good feeling - like I'm a trout that's finally learned to avoid flashing lures.
I also really appreciate the perks of being a stunting addict. I'm so often surrounded by superhot girls with absolutely delicious bodies... it's tough to find a guy who gets more hands-on experience with lithe bodies. And it lets me turn off the lust... I can be very physical with girls who are delicious in every way, and unless she's grinding on me or something I can avoid arousal entirely.
Plus, I spent over half my nights in Dawn's tent, so my lust was physically impeded, as well. If I'd spent too many days in a row being celibate I'd have been torn apart by lust. Instead I was generally pretty spent. Yay! So much more enjoyable to be in control of my thoughts and my eyes, instead of being yanked around by them like I would've been if Dawn wasn't there.
Plus, Dawn is superhot. She's always breathtaking, but when she purties up she becomes ridiculously gorgeous. I typically end up going home with the most desirable girl at the event - it amazes me. I've found a superhot girl that isn't into herself. Joey was, too - she's a bit more into being catered to because of her looks than Dawn is, but she's far from egotistical or stuck up. I've actually had quite a string of superhot girls who aren't stuck on themselves. Gaelen, Mary, Amanda (though she's got more image-consciousness than she admits).
Even better than Dawn's looks & body, though, is the stuff that matters - her heart and spirit and mind. We connect easily and completely, and we can share things with remarkably little concern. Through delightful coincidence we've matured into 2 beings who fit together like we were milled to do so.
Back to Burning Man. :)
Dutch and Sara and I did a show. We did 2, actually. First there were some fire-spinners / acrobats, and they didn't mind if we jumped up and stunted on their stage. We got a few ideas and jumped up - me & Dutch & Sara. I'd forgotten that she's not a performer. She stood around a lot, and talked a lot with us about what to do and not do - breaking character a bunch. I grew up around a stage and I forget that those who didn't have a hard time remembering that you perform at *all times*. But overall that show was pretty cool.
The 2nd time we were recruited by a really talented flier whose name I can't recall. She knew Zac, though, from Boston, and she flew really well. She was very confident about flying either mid- or high-flier for a 3-high. Even though I'm a more experienced (aka solid) base than Dutch, I'd rather spot a really risky stunt than base it, so I put Dutch on bottom and Shanni on top.
Shanni! :) More about her later.
That 3-high was the scariest stunt I've ever spotted. First the mid-base girl ran through a spin-up mount, where Shanni stood on my shoulders facing the mid-base girl, and then jumped (with a pop from me) and spun up onto the mid-base's shoulders. Well, it didn't work out that way. Shanni made it 3/4 up, then climbed laboriously the rest of the way. The mid-base girl had to *squat* to stay up, and poor Dutch found himself holding the most wobbly and unstable 3-high I've ever dared to imagine. He was hunched forward, trying desperately to cling to the last vestiges of stability. He called "Down!" a few times, but they couldn't hear him and honestly, it was safer to go up than down at that point. Shanni was *really* high. They finally got it despite Dutch's protests, and bless Dutch's heart, he held it. It demonstrated just how wimpy our fliers are - not one of my students (other than Alysia, who's now gone) would have held that trick. But the two girls flying it held it and tightened it. I want-want-want that in my fliers!
Anyway, the mid-base girl whose name I forget invited us to do ambient stunting for their Battle of the Bands at Center Camp. We were thrilled to comply, and me & Dutch & Sara planned out our tricks.
This was soon after Sara blew me off to stop Nick's art-car and ask for Dawn, though, plus Sara had been complaining all day about not getting whatever she wanted, quickly enough. The Zoobombers have a saying, "Do it better!" Sara uses this saying anytime she doesn't get what she wants, to mean, "Anticipate and do what Sara wants!" It bugs me mightily. Anyway, I told Dutch that my cope-with-Sara ability was all used up, so that he could help me detach rather than conflict with her. But she got in my face about something and I snapped at her about interfering in my personal life with Dawn, and she sulked, and it was a bad scene prior to the first performance. But to our credit we did well, and kicked out some sweet stuntery for Round 1. :) Yay!
Right away in Round 2, though, a bad thing happened. Sara & Dutch threw a Star, but it went bad and Sara dropped straight out of it, tweaking her neck pretty badly. :( I was mortified - I'd just spatted with her and now she was injured. I felt horrible. Then I was pissy at Dutch for having to stick with his girlfriend instead of coming back to the show and finishing it out. We ended up not doing anything else for lack of Dutch in the 2nd Round. :( Sara was hurting badly for at least an hour and I was emotionally exhausted in addition to physically spent.
Shanni. We met her in Center Camp while stunting and she asked if we'd base her in a low Hand-to-Hand. She flew okay - she'd obviously done it but she wasn't spot-on. I showed her a bunch of new stuff, too, of course - Angel, Arabesque, etc. She'd done many of them. She asked if we could do an Angel Full-down, and seemed suspicious when I readily assented. She explained it a few times, and we practiced the pop a few times, and then we were ready. I was confident; I've thrown them even though it's been 20+ years. Plus, I do Angelbesques with tons of fliers, and it's the same pop. We threw it, and it went perfectly. As I cradled her, her eyes and mouth shot open in the most adorable "O"s of surprise, and she gushed with excitement about how clean and smooth it felt. I think that's when she fell in love with me & Dutch. :) And we happily reciprocated, of course. She's super-tight, eager, brave, and she doesn't make the same mistake twice. She also lands like a cat - but not unless the base and spotters fail to catch her. If they do, she stays stiff and tight like a flier should. I haven't stunted with a partner as tight & skilled as Shanni for many years. I want her for my own!
She was super-excited to work with experienced, safe bases. She trained herself, which is amazing 'cause she's really good. She does Aerial. She's got a gig in B.C. for a month or two, and then she's looking for a new home base, hopefully on the west coast. Dutch and I tried our very hardest to sell her on Portland. If she moves out here she's a shoe-in for a Kazum flier, and she can probably increase our fliers' skills dramatically. Yay!
After the Battle of the Bands at Center Camp we all set out for another night of fun. I don't recall the specifics of what happened when... it's been too long. :( I spent a lot of wonderful time with Dawn, though, over the course of Thursday through Saturday. We mostly avoided Nick, but a few times we were together around Triceratops while he was there.
I got to hang out with Feather a bunch, too. She was my glom-buddy for one of the nights - a date that I didn't kiss on or be flirty/romantic with. Just a person to be close to. It was wonderful. I'm sure glad I got to spend time with that kid. :)
I was Spiderman one night, but I lost my Spiderman hood at the end of the night. :( Lame. While Spiderman was very fun, it was totally eclipsed by Flaming Shadowman. Blake and I work the blacksuits from the SCI show at Horning's Hideout, and we had more fun than any two black-clad people are entitled to have. We climbed and climbed and climbed and hung and hung and hung. I explored my body's potentials and limitations like I never have before. I never would have believed that I could do the things I was doing. I got comfortable with double-knee hangs, and then single-knee hangs. I thrashed around in a single-knee hang. Blake lifted people from double- and single-knee hangs, and swung them. I explored a wide range of ways to hold onto all kinds of different anchor points with 1 or 2 hands and/or 1 or 2 legs/feet. I did Bridges on very tall, not-so-sturdy objects. From a Bridge or hang I gazed in stupified wonder out over a rave full of brightly-clad super-people.
Gummy Bears. Creature coined the phrase and it immediately made sense to me. He and I (after my return from BRC) took a moment to clarify just what quantifies a Gummy Bear.
I'm not sure they *need* to be female, but they overwhelmingly are females. Nearly all of them are small. They wear brightly-colored things, and they favor fluffy stuff. They're made up to look hotter than humans can possibly look, and dressed & costumed accordingly. They look like candy, clothed in wonderfully colored wrappers. But (for me at least) the primary determinant is how they dance.
Gummy Bears dance like sex-candy. They move in a way that's calculated to make watchers want them fiercely. They're not overtly sexual (at least not often) but the hint of sex is there. Mostly, though, they just dance (and look) like candy. Dawn is occasionally my Dark Gummy Bear (she doesn't favor neon colors). Feather was a Gummy Bear now & then. The rave stages were sprinkled liberally with Gummy Bears. The spotlight dancers (behind the screens at Tower of Babel, especially) are almost always Gummy Bears. Most Gummy Bears are strippers, though not all of them are.
Burning Man 2010 taught me not to obsess about Gummy Bears, yay! :) I watched them (they were everywhere and it was hard *not* to) and I slowly came to realize that I don't want one. I don't want human candy. I don't want strippers, or superhot European girls with perfect face and body. I got to see Gummy Bears in many different situations, and girls who are caught up enough in themselves to become candy aren't for me. It's a very good feeling - like I'm a trout that's finally learned to avoid flashing lures.
I also really appreciate the perks of being a stunting addict. I'm so often surrounded by superhot girls with absolutely delicious bodies... it's tough to find a guy who gets more hands-on experience with lithe bodies. And it lets me turn off the lust... I can be very physical with girls who are delicious in every way, and unless she's grinding on me or something I can avoid arousal entirely.
Plus, I spent over half my nights in Dawn's tent, so my lust was physically impeded, as well. If I'd spent too many days in a row being celibate I'd have been torn apart by lust. Instead I was generally pretty spent. Yay! So much more enjoyable to be in control of my thoughts and my eyes, instead of being yanked around by them like I would've been if Dawn wasn't there.
Plus, Dawn is superhot. She's always breathtaking, but when she purties up she becomes ridiculously gorgeous. I typically end up going home with the most desirable girl at the event - it amazes me. I've found a superhot girl that isn't into herself. Joey was, too - she's a bit more into being catered to because of her looks than Dawn is, but she's far from egotistical or stuck up. I've actually had quite a string of superhot girls who aren't stuck on themselves. Gaelen, Mary, Amanda (though she's got more image-consciousness than she admits).
Even better than Dawn's looks & body, though, is the stuff that matters - her heart and spirit and mind. We connect easily and completely, and we can share things with remarkably little concern. Through delightful coincidence we've matured into 2 beings who fit together like we were milled to do so.
Back to Burning Man. :)
Dutch and Sara and I did a show. We did 2, actually. First there were some fire-spinners / acrobats, and they didn't mind if we jumped up and stunted on their stage. We got a few ideas and jumped up - me & Dutch & Sara. I'd forgotten that she's not a performer. She stood around a lot, and talked a lot with us about what to do and not do - breaking character a bunch. I grew up around a stage and I forget that those who didn't have a hard time remembering that you perform at *all times*. But overall that show was pretty cool.
The 2nd time we were recruited by a really talented flier whose name I can't recall. She knew Zac, though, from Boston, and she flew really well. She was very confident about flying either mid- or high-flier for a 3-high. Even though I'm a more experienced (aka solid) base than Dutch, I'd rather spot a really risky stunt than base it, so I put Dutch on bottom and Shanni on top.
Shanni! :) More about her later.
That 3-high was the scariest stunt I've ever spotted. First the mid-base girl ran through a spin-up mount, where Shanni stood on my shoulders facing the mid-base girl, and then jumped (with a pop from me) and spun up onto the mid-base's shoulders. Well, it didn't work out that way. Shanni made it 3/4 up, then climbed laboriously the rest of the way. The mid-base girl had to *squat* to stay up, and poor Dutch found himself holding the most wobbly and unstable 3-high I've ever dared to imagine. He was hunched forward, trying desperately to cling to the last vestiges of stability. He called "Down!" a few times, but they couldn't hear him and honestly, it was safer to go up than down at that point. Shanni was *really* high. They finally got it despite Dutch's protests, and bless Dutch's heart, he held it. It demonstrated just how wimpy our fliers are - not one of my students (other than Alysia, who's now gone) would have held that trick. But the two girls flying it held it and tightened it. I want-want-want that in my fliers!
Anyway, the mid-base girl whose name I forget invited us to do ambient stunting for their Battle of the Bands at Center Camp. We were thrilled to comply, and me & Dutch & Sara planned out our tricks.
This was soon after Sara blew me off to stop Nick's art-car and ask for Dawn, though, plus Sara had been complaining all day about not getting whatever she wanted, quickly enough. The Zoobombers have a saying, "Do it better!" Sara uses this saying anytime she doesn't get what she wants, to mean, "Anticipate and do what Sara wants!" It bugs me mightily. Anyway, I told Dutch that my cope-with-Sara ability was all used up, so that he could help me detach rather than conflict with her. But she got in my face about something and I snapped at her about interfering in my personal life with Dawn, and she sulked, and it was a bad scene prior to the first performance. But to our credit we did well, and kicked out some sweet stuntery for Round 1. :) Yay!
Right away in Round 2, though, a bad thing happened. Sara & Dutch threw a Star, but it went bad and Sara dropped straight out of it, tweaking her neck pretty badly. :( I was mortified - I'd just spatted with her and now she was injured. I felt horrible. Then I was pissy at Dutch for having to stick with his girlfriend instead of coming back to the show and finishing it out. We ended up not doing anything else for lack of Dutch in the 2nd Round. :( Sara was hurting badly for at least an hour and I was emotionally exhausted in addition to physically spent.
Shanni. We met her in Center Camp while stunting and she asked if we'd base her in a low Hand-to-Hand. She flew okay - she'd obviously done it but she wasn't spot-on. I showed her a bunch of new stuff, too, of course - Angel, Arabesque, etc. She'd done many of them. She asked if we could do an Angel Full-down, and seemed suspicious when I readily assented. She explained it a few times, and we practiced the pop a few times, and then we were ready. I was confident; I've thrown them even though it's been 20+ years. Plus, I do Angelbesques with tons of fliers, and it's the same pop. We threw it, and it went perfectly. As I cradled her, her eyes and mouth shot open in the most adorable "O"s of surprise, and she gushed with excitement about how clean and smooth it felt. I think that's when she fell in love with me & Dutch. :) And we happily reciprocated, of course. She's super-tight, eager, brave, and she doesn't make the same mistake twice. She also lands like a cat - but not unless the base and spotters fail to catch her. If they do, she stays stiff and tight like a flier should. I haven't stunted with a partner as tight & skilled as Shanni for many years. I want her for my own!
She was super-excited to work with experienced, safe bases. She trained herself, which is amazing 'cause she's really good. She does Aerial. She's got a gig in B.C. for a month or two, and then she's looking for a new home base, hopefully on the west coast. Dutch and I tried our very hardest to sell her on Portland. If she moves out here she's a shoe-in for a Kazum flier, and she can probably increase our fliers' skills dramatically. Yay!
After the Battle of the Bands at Center Camp we all set out for another night of fun. I don't recall the specifics of what happened when... it's been too long. :( I spent a lot of wonderful time with Dawn, though, over the course of Thursday through Saturday. We mostly avoided Nick, but a few times we were together around Triceratops while he was there.
I got to hang out with Feather a bunch, too. She was my glom-buddy for one of the nights - a date that I didn't kiss on or be flirty/romantic with. Just a person to be close to. It was wonderful. I'm sure glad I got to spend time with that kid. :)
Labels: Blake, Burning Man 2010, Dawn, dutch, Flaming Shadowman, Gummy Bears, Sara, Shanni, Spiderman
posted by Scott | 12:25 PM
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